The Cigar Bible: Perelman’s Pocket Cyclopedia of Cigars

For sixteen years, Perelman’s Pocket Cyclopedia of Cigars has been a household name in the cigar industry. It is undeniably ‘the bible’ of our business, a comprehensive list of over 1,000 brands of cigars. Here at the BCP offices, almost everyone has a copy on their desk.

For each cigar line, it lists sizes, manufacturing info, and a bit of text describing the blend. With a new iPhone app and incredibly useful website, it’s never been easier to get complete info on any cigar under the sun in less than 60 seconds. How comprehensive is it? The 2010 edition clocks in at over 700 pages with very small type.

CigarCyclopedia.com has been expanding rapidly, and now features a monthly online cigar review magazine and several resources for beginning smokers. Another feature we use all the time is the Comparison Shopper, which lists product prices among major cigar retailers. We frequently check to make sure we’re offering the most competitive prices possible on hundreds of cigar lines.

The Perelman’s folks also maintain a list of Cuban cigars, but they thankfully keep it separate from the U.S. guide. It would defeat the purpose of a handy guide to have to sift through cigars you can’t even buy stateside. The simple presentation of the book adds to its utility, and though it’s not exactly great summer reading material, it is extremely useful in a pinch.

You’d actually be surprised at how often we receive cigars with no accompanying info. Even new cigars by major manufacturers sometimes come without any indication of where the wrapper, binder and filler tobacco originated. Packaging for other cigars might not include size or ring gauge info — rather than having to measure the cigar by hand, we just pop open Perelman’s to get the answer right away.

We’re not sure if the average cigar smoker has much of a use for Perelman’s book, but CigarCyclopedia.com is a valuable resource for anyone who buys cigars online.